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Proparco is supporting the growth of innovative start-ups in Africa
Project
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Signature date
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Location
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Multi-country Global, South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria
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Financing tool
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Financing amount (Euro)
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7000000
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Financing details
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EUR 7m equity investment
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Customer
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Africinvest Cathay Innovation Management
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Type of customer
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Investment fund
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Country of headquarters
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Mauritius
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Project number
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PZZ1466
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Environmental and social ranking
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IF-B
This information is given at the time of signature, without prejudice to any developments in the operation/project.
Proparco is reaffirming its support for start-ups in Africa through a EUR 7m equity investment in AfricInvest. The objective of this pan-African venture capital fund will be to support, via a flexible and non-financial contribution (governance), twenty or so start-ups developing innovative business models in order to finance their growth and scale-up.
Client presentation
AfricInvest is a leading player in private equity dedicated to Africa and more particularly Sub-Saharan Africa. The company currently has EUR 1.5bn under management and offices in six countries. Since it was set up, the company has invested in over 150 companies in 25 African countries.
Project description
The objective of Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund LLC, a pan-African venture capital fund with a target size of EUR 120m, will be to support, via a flexible financial contribution (equity, quasi-equity), an incremental contribution (multi-rounds) and non-financial contribution (governance, ESIG), twenty or so start-ups developing innovative business models which have got through the stages of ideation (prototyping) and creation (market launch and generation of turnover) in order to finance their growth and scale-up.
Project impact
The project’s main expected development outcomes are:
- The diversification of the capital market, as sources of financing for start-ups are still very scarce in the region,
- The diversification of capital allocation, as the services offered by the companies supported will include periurban and rural areas,
- The social and societal impacts by opening up access (financial and geographical) to certain essential services,
- Training (structuring of a venture capital industry, advice to entrepreneurs, etc.),
- Support for some 6,000 indirect jobs in fifteen or so young companies and start-ups over the next 5 years, including 650 women’s jobs and 2,350 jobs created under the impetus of the fund’s equity investments.